Willie Green recaps win over Los Angeles | Pelicans Lakers Postgame Interview 12/31/23

Willie Green recaps win over Los Angeles | Pelicans Lakers Postgame Interview 12/31/23

All right coach um you use the term force and Pace all the time uh just the way you guys started this game but you really came out you took it to him you scored 42 in the first quarter and and really set the tone early for sure yeah

We did we we got off to a great start and I thought that the start that we had it it it set the tone for the rest of the game CJ was was big and hitting some big shots Big Shots after big shots to start the game he got us going and then

You know the Domino sort of fell from there but really good start um by our starting unit got to give props to Jose Alvarado uh just all over the place tonight credited with five steals he might have been able to get more he was just he was Jose tonight he was and um

He’s one of our emotional leaders and his ability to impact this team with his energy with his effort uh it was huge tonight some big steals that led to transition baskets for us um you know it’s once again it’s it’s a blessing to have a guy like that on your

Team who who can you know really ignite the whole building and um that’s what he does when he touches the floor last time you guys played the Lakers they seemed like they’re really loaded up on Zion inside did CJ and some other guys making shots early you feel like loosen the

Floor a little bit for for Zion Brandon and other guys I think it did for sure I I think CJ with the start that that he had in the threes that he hit Jose hit some threes herb hit a few threes you know it allowed our offense to get the

Ball to Z and now they were looking for you know their defense was wasn’t as packed as it was the previous game and um once you get the ball to Zion in the middle of the floor or at the elbows he he’s extremely dangerous he gets downhill he can make the right decisions

And then he gets to the free throw line yeah had another night where or I guess I was going to ask about Brandon’s defense um you know he’s had a lot of these nights lately where it’s multiple Steals and multiple blocks have you seen like an uptick from him in recent weeks

And if so like how does that help yall we are seeing that and that’s um that’s the challenge that we all are accepting is that we want to be a better defensive team especially in clutch situations which we all talked about and it starts with our leaders uh bi Z CJ taking

Ownership in getting stops making sure we understand who our matchups are and I thought bi was was really good on both sides of the ball tonight yeah I’m going to be the guy to ask about the three 20 point scores again I mean before it it’s

You know you’re saying hey it’s good to see it once but now seeing it two games in a row uh how good is it now seeing it just becoming more of a regular occurrence with those three guys it’s great um you know what’s more impressive

Is bi 268 assists Z 26 six assists and CJ 22 and N assists so not only are they scoring but they’re sharing the ball with each other with their teammates and that’s the trust factor that we have to have on both ends of the floor we talked all year also about the three-point

Shooting how important that is for you guys uh how much this is just changed just the energy around the team the way you’re playing when the threes are falling the way they were tonight it’s a huge component especially in today’s game to be able to space the floor to

Have guys ready to make shots and credit to all of our guys they they they put in the work and we’re constantly you know watching film I guess we could say teaching preaching just continue to make the simple play Simple pass if you’re open shoot it if

Not swing it drive it and we did that tonight LeBron’s one of the most cereal players to ever play the game what was your reaction to seeing Jose get him not once but twice with those steals from behind I was extremely surprised that he

Got him um but it is a back toback so maybe you know a little tired on his part but Jose is what Jose does when you least expect it here he comes and I didn’t even see him I you know my my attention was somewhere else I heard the crowd go crazy next

Thing I know he’s got the ball in his hands but um no he he has a knack for being able to get steals like that and then ad got off to a pretty quick Offensive start out of the gates but then he kind of slowed down it seemed like a lot of it

Coincide with Larry being being out there who got another double double for you yeah it did it it was combination of Larry and jv on him and um look he’s a fantastic player we we he heard us last game he can catch it in a post they use

Him in pick and rolls he can pick and pop and we wanted to mix up our coverages on him we doubled him a couple times in a post we switched some screens so that we can keep them in front of them and then we guard them one-on-one

To try to take away some of their threes but I I thought Larry and and Jonas did a really good job tonight how do you view this result in the context of the last time you played them is is there any Pride Factor um coming into this

Game for sure um the the way that we lost a game you you want to redeem yourself you want to have an opportunity to play that team again and you know have a better performance and that’s what we did tonight you know we talked about it the last couple days

And watch some film on it as hard as it was uh like I said we own it um but tonight was was a good step in the right direction playing against a team you know that you could potentially see down the line I’m kind of following up on

That you out scored the Lakers 25-7 Second Chance points how did you feel about that sustained effort for the full 48 minutes of the game I thought it was great uh it was one of our most complete games where from start to finish uh we we our game plan discipline was at a

High level coach you emphasized of course in the press conference and practice yesterday that you guys needed to R your versus this team but to be able to go out and do it in the fashion that you have done it what does it say about the bounce back ability in your locker room

Well the biggest thing is that it’s a it’s a blessing to um be able to coach a group of young men that care they care about each other um they come in every day and they give you everything they have it doesn’t mean we’re going to win

Every game um so we’re fortunate We Got High character and guys that work at it and so you know when game time comes we we we lay it all on the floor and um I’m extremely proud of what we did tonight I don’t know if you can recall

Any specifics right after the game I’m just wondering there seemed like a few points where the Lakers looked Prime to try to make a push to get back into it and you guys always had some kind of response momentum turning response I think of for example um hose’s swipe

From LeBron and then immediate three in the corner from her any did you notice that trend throughout the game and any other stand out yeah we I mean look they’re they’re they’re an experienced playoff team um call it what it is LeBron you said it you know one of the

Greatest players to ever play uh they’re going to make a a run at some point and I thought it was it was really good on our part to be able to sustain even when they made their runs we continued to execute we didn’t hang our heads and

Then the last you know five or six minutes you know I think it was a 12 point game or what have you and we we contined to make plays we got stops we contined to run and those are the improvements that we want to continue to make okay thank you Happy New Year

New Orleans Pelicans post game interview with head coach Willie Green after their win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, Dec. 31 during the 2023-24 NBA season.
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New Orleans Pelicans Roster
———————————————–
Jose Alvarado #15 Guard
Dyson Daniels #11 Guard
Jordan Hawkins #24 Guard
Brandon Ingram #14 Forward
Herbert Jones #5 Forward
Kira Lewis Jr. #13 Guard
E.J. Liddell #32 Forward
Naji Marshall #8 Forward
CJ McCollum #3 Guard
Trey Murphy III #25 Guard
Larry Nance Jr. #22 Forward
Matt Ryan #37 Forward
Dereon Seabron #0 Guard
Jonas Valanciunas #17 Center
Zion Williamson #1 Forward
Cody Zeller #44 Forward-Center

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